cultivating and enjoying the simple pleasures of faith, family and home

Monday, April 21, 2008

Weekend Update!

I hope you all had a great weekend! We were very busy - which is why I'm not exactly prepared for my post today!

Friday - Emily was sick, so it was a very long day for her and therefore for me as well.

Saturday - we cleaned out our shed! We'd been putting this off for about a year and finally got it done - we pulled everything out, ended up with a big trash pile, a sell pile and put everything else back in much more organized! What a great feeling!

Sunday - I did a Olive Garden themed dinner - yummy! I made Pasta Fagioli soup, Garlic Herb Chicken con Broccoli (Stacey - I did marinate the chicken overnight in spices and a drizzle of olive oil and it was deliciously moist, not dry!), Breadsticks (I used frozen) and salad with their signature dressing (thanks Michelle for the recipe!), we finished the meal off with apple pie and homemade ice cream! Yummy!

Note: I used Egg Beaters in the dressing so there would not be a risk of salmonella. I will also add that this is not exactly a frugal menu that I planned - but neither is a trip to Olive Garden! And, since we live about an hour away from the nearest Olive Garden, this seemed like a good investment to enjoy one of our favorite restaurants at home!

All this to say - I am wiped out and will be back tomorrow with something more interesting!

Random: I'm considering posting my craft ideas now so that if any of you want to try them, you can let me know if there are any holes in the directions. Would anyone be interested in seeing these/trying them in advance?

I am so sorry Emily was sick. I hope she is feeling lots better. Congrats on getting your shed organized. We did that last summer and it is so nice to be able to find everything we need without hunting. Way to go!

Would love to preview your craft ideas- hope today is much better for you!

The dinner sounds great, thanks for sharing the recipe links. I followed a link that you provided for the Oatmeal Cream Pies and my middle son took them to school today for his snack day. My husband raved over them. Thanks for sharing the links.

I would love to preview your craft ideas, you have such wonderful ones!!!!

Monica,So glad you liked the Oatmeal Creme Pies-my whole family-including extended family love them. We call them Little Lises instead of Little Debbies!! I would love to preview your craft project-it looks like fun!Thank you for the well wishes for Little Fisher!! Elise

Did the olive garden dressing taste the same? My 14 year old daughter loves it! Also I have never tried your hubby's favorite soup but a friend of ours always orders Zuppa Toscana soup and I always thought it didn't look very appetizing. Well, let me tell you I decided to order it and it is the best soup I have ever had!!! It has a little bit of a kick to it so kids may not like it but it is sooo yummy!!!!!Wah..... I want some now :o)